The baby koala emerged from his mother’s pouch
on March 5,
the Zoo will hold a naming contest.

The Chiang Mai Zoo welcomed a baby Koala bear on Tuesday,
March 5 when a new baby boy emerged from the pouch of his 10 year old mother
Simpson. A naming contest will be held to find a name for the newest member
of the Chiang Mai Zoo.
Although the koala is not actually a bear, but a marsupial, early settlers
to Australia called them bears due to their similar appearance to bears. The
koala has a similar appearance to its relative the wombat but has thicker
fur, longer legs and larger ears than the wombat. Their weight ranges from 5
kg to 14 kg for a male and in captivity have reached 18 years of age. They
are a nocturnal animal and usually very quiet although a mating male koala
can have a loud call. Females reach maturity at 2 to 3 years old and males
at 3 to 4 years. A healthy female koala can produce one baby each year for
about 12 years and gestation is usually around 35 days but after birth the
baby koala, or joey, remains in the mother’s pouch for 6 months. Koalas
spend about three of their five active hours eating eucalyptus leaves, their
food of choice, usually at night.
The Chiang Mai Zoo received two pairs of breeding koalas from the Taronga
Zoo in Australia under Royal Patronage in 2006; Fulla, Bryan, Simpson and
Coco.